HILO, Hawai'i – For the first time in the last 36 regular-season contests, the Hawai'i Hilo Women's Soccer team found itself on the other side of the final score after the fifth-ranked Vulcans fell to Point Loma, 3-0, Saturday afternoon in Pacific West Conference action at the Vulcan Soccer Field.
The Vulcans were kept out of the scoring column as the Sea Lions managed to capitalize with three second-half goals in the span of eight minutes — first on a header by Mara Sovde off a corner kick (65') followed by a 25-yard top-shelf shot from Grace Nelson (68') and finally a finish from Zoe Crockett (73') off a mishandled cross-in from Olivia Shaw.
Hawai'i Hilo was credited with eight shots (two on goal) to Point Loma's total of 12 (five on goal).
Sophomore Courtney Linn made her first career start in goal making one save.
With the loss, the Vulcans' regular-season unbeaten streak ended at 35 games dating back to Oct. 3, 2021.
"We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but it speaks volumes about where the program has gotten and hopefully it's an indication of where we're headed and what's to come as we continue moving forward," eighth-year Hawai'i Hilo head coach Gene Okamura said of going nearly three season's worth of matches without a loss during the regular season.
Hawai'i Hilo's two losses over the last two seasons came in the postseason to Sonoma State in the 2021 NCAA West Regional First Round and to Concordia University Irvine in the 2022 NCAA West Regional Second Round.
The two-time defending PacWest Conference Champions remained atop the league standings with 18 points while No. 12 Concordia University Irvine lurks behind unbeaten (and one with less game played) with 16 points at 5-0-1.
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to a 10-1-1 record (6-1-0 Pacific West Conference) while Point Loma moved to a 4-2-0 conference record (8-3-1 overall).
The Vulcans will have just two more home contests against No. 12 Concordia University Irvine (Oct. 30) and Azusa Pacific (Nov. 4) before the regular-season finale on O'ahu against Chaminade (Nov. 12).
TOP FIVE
The Vulcans remained at No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches Division II Top 25 Week 7 Poll released on Tuesday.
Hawai'i Hilo started the season at No. 14 and have now reached the program's highest ranking.
The Vulcans also remained at No. 1 in the West Region rankings.
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
The first NCAA Regional Rankings will be released Wednesday, Oct. 25 with the top 10 teams in each region listed in alphabetical order. These rankings, computed by the NCAA, will help determine the top six schools to advance to the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship Regional rounds.
For the West, the winners from each of the Pacific West Conference, California Collegiate Athletic Association and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference will automatically qualify for the postseason. The remaining three teams will be granted according to the regional ranks.
The top two teams will also earn hosting rights for the NCAA West Regional First and Second Rounds, if they choose to do so.
Two more iterations of the NCAA Regional Rankings will be released before the final announcement with the NCAA Selection Show on Nov. 13.
ONLINE TICKETS
Single-game tickets are now available to be purchased online through Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans Athletics' recently launched online ticket platform in partnership with AudienceView Campus.
Tickets for all soccer, women's volleyball and men's and women's basketball home events are available at HiloAthletics.com/tickets.
